Means for supporting footwear and pressing the solepiece thereof



NOV. 18. 1969 PADOVAM ET AL 3,478,946

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING FOOTWEAR AND PRESSING THE SOLEPIECE THEREOF o bneets-oneet 1 Filed Feb. 28, 1967 INVENTORS HENRY R. PADOVANI BY JOHN awmcn'r mm (L. S9... FE

ATTORNEYS Nov. 18. 1969 H. R. PADOVANI E AL I 3,478,946 MEANS FOR SUPPORTING FOOTWEAR AND IRESSING THE SOLEPIECE THEREOF Filed Feb. 28, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet Ell v i Q s 7 90 70 "mm 14 20 /ff 524 6d 1 M 16 4d mvEN ToRs ;.v HENRY R. PADOVANI a BY JOHN G. WRIGHT :Daflrui U. S

ATTORNEYS NOV. 18. 1969 R P DQ M ET AL 3,478,946

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING FOOTWEAR AND PRESSING THE SOLEPIECE THEREOF Filed Feb. 28, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet INVENTORSN/ HENRY R. PADOVANI 6. BY J'OHN G. wmc HT z'gc4 tum 5W ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,478,946 MEANS FOR SUPPORTING FOOTWEAR AND PRESSING THE SOLEPIECE THEREOF Henry R. Padovani, Austell, and John G. Wright, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to Auto-Soler Company, Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Feb. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 619,410 Int. Cl. A43d 69/04; B25c 7/00; B27f 7/04 U.S. Cl. 227-97 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A horn member of the gooseneck type which is capable of use in the usual fashion for supporting footwear in fastener forming and inserting machines, while being additionally adapted for anvil use either separately in jack fashion or as a pressing element operated by such machines in relation to an opposing press plate member. The horn member is characterized by a top supporting face at which a circular clinching element of conventional form is arranged in an encompassing triangular area having two sides lying substantially tangent to the clinching element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is broadly concerned with fastener forming and inserting machines, and more particularly with machines of this type used to repair footwear.

U.S. Patents No. 3,241,225 and No.2,566,104 disclose typical prior art machines for forming and inserting fasteners for shoe repair purposes. Such machines commonly include a selectively positionable horn member presenting a top supporting face arranged to bear against the insole of the shoe and to hold the shoe against a knife assembly for insertion of fasteners thereat, and to turn or clinch any protruding ends of the inserted fasteners.

Since it is often necessary to insert the fasteners near the edge portion of the supported shoe, the support face presented by the horn member is normally made relatively small in area to permit the shoe to be positioned with its edge portion disposed quite near the point or axis of fastener insertion. However, when a horn member of this type is employed the supporting pressure exerted through the relatively small supporting face must be modulated under any circumstances where undesirable marking of the supported shoe surface needs to be avoided.

On the other hand, the operating characteristics of fastener forming and inserting machines of the type mentioned above lend themselves to adaptation for pressing operations to secure outer solepieces to shoes by pressure sensitive adhesives, as in copending application Ser. No. 595,731, filed Nov. 21, 1966, which discloses an adapting fixture for welt pressing. The present invention provides an adapting horn member arrangement that is more generally useful for sole pressing or the like, While still remaining usable in the usual way during fastener inserting operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the horn member of the present invention is formed to present a top supporting face at which a circular clinching element is provided for turning and clinching any protruding ends of inserted fasteners, with a triangular area encompassing the circular clinching element and having two sides lying substantially tangent thereto. This encompassing triangular area not only eliminates the usual tendency toward marking of the supported shoe surface, but additionally provides a supporting face that is shaped advantageously for anvil use or for adapting use as a pressing element in a fastener forming and inserting machine.

The present invention also takes advantage of this improved horn member to adapt selectively the operating characteristics of the previously noted fastener forming and inserting machines for sole pressing and the like. This adaptation is accomplished by providing a press plate selectively positionable to cover the fastener forming knife assembly to present a smooth pressing surface thereat 1n opposition to the supporting face of the horn member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating generally a fastener forming and inserting machine fitted with a horn member and press plate according to the present mvention;

FIG. 2 is a left side view corresponding generally to FIG. 1, and additionally illustrating a control cam member for the press plate;

FIG. 3 is a front view corresponding generally to FIG. 1, but showing the press plate moved to its inactive position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view taken substantially along line 44 in FIG. 1 and illustrating the press plate at its active and inactive position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary left side view illustrating the press plate and horn member positioned for pressing a solepiece;

FIG. 6 is a detail plan view of a portion of the horn member illustrating the top supporting face thereof;

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the horn member portion illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a right side view of an alternate embodiment of the press plate according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the press plate illustrated in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a front view of the press plate illustrated in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a fastener forming and inserting machine 10 of the same general type as that disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Patent No. 3,241,225, including an operating head 12 and fastener forming knife assembly 14 having a projecting nose portion 16 (FIG. 3) through which formed fasteners are normally inserted into a shoe held thereat by a work supporting member which, in the disclosed embodiment, is the improved horn member 18. The nose portion 16 may be uncovered as illustrated in FIG. 3 for special fastener inserting operations described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 3,241,225, which are not pertinent to the description of the present invention, or a selectively positionable conversion plate 20 having an opening 22 formed therein may be placed in shrouding relation about nose portion 16 to present an enlarged flat bottom surface 24 adjacent which work is pressed for normal fastener inserting operations as also explained in greater detail in U.S. Patent No. 3,241,225.

Horn member 18 is mounted on a stud 26 of a work support assembly 28 including a shank 30 that is formed with a rack 32 arranged to cooperate with a holding pawl 34 for allowing the work support assembly 28 to be manually raised and then held at any selected vertical position. The work support assembly 28 and the operating head 12 are operated by a drive mechanism (not shown) disclosed in greater detail in U.S. Patent No. 2,793,364 and U.S. Patent No. 2,698,681, it being suflicient for purposes of understanding the present invention only to note that when the drive mechanism is energized by the operator, as by pressing a foot pedal (not shown), the work support assembly 28 is reciprocated vertically to momentarily press the supported shoe and grip it securely against the lower portion of knife assembly 14 during the insertion of each formed fastener thereat and then to release the shoe and permit relocation thereof for further fastener insertions. The pressure applied to the shoe by work support assembly 28 may be regulated by the operator adjusting the position of a control handle 36 which is operatively connected to the drive mechanism for this purpose as described in the aforementioned US. Patent No. 2,793,364.

The aforementioned horn member 18 is of the gooseneck type including a curved standard portion 38 extending from a top supporting face 40 at which is presented a circular clinching element 42 (FIG. 7) that is specially hardened and formed at its exposed surface 44 to turn any protruding ends of fasteners inserted into a shoe and thereby securely clinch these fastener ends in the shoe in a conventional manner. As best seen in FIG. 6, supporting face 40 presents a triangular area encompassing the circular clinching element 42 and having two sides 40' and 40" thereof lying substantially tangent thereto. These sides 40 and 40" form an apex at which the included angle is sufficiently small for supporting penetration at the toe portion of footwear having the most pointed toe configuration to be dealt with thereby suiting horn member 18 for use in supporting a wide range of shoes of this type, and, in this connection, it will be noted that the apex formed points in a direction opposite to the direction in which the horn member standard portion 38 extends so that the horn member 18 will extend readily through the throat of the supported shoe even when the supporting face 40 is disposed at the extreme end of the shoe toe portion as seen in FIG. 5. Finally, as best seen in FIG. 7 the supporting face 40 is progressively relieved toward its periphery at an angle x sufficient to cause the triangular area of the supporting face 40 to act predominantly within rather than at this periphery and thereby reduce substantially any tendency of the supporting face 40 to mark the insole of the shoe supported thereon, an angle x of five degrees being suitable for this purpose.

It should be noted here that, in the illustrated embodiment, a small flat land 44 is formed about the circular clinching element 42 to facilitate grinding of the supporting face 40 to obtain the relief thereat, however, this land 44 is so small that for all practical purposes this relief extends from the circular clinching element 42.

The aforementioned conversion plate 20 is carried on a pivot shaft 46 that extends through a fixed bracket 48 and is fitted with a retaining collar 50 acting oppositely with respect to the top surface of bracket 48 to contain a torsion spring 52 which urges the conversion plate 20 upwardly and towards its inactive position clear of the knife assembly 14. This mounting arrangement for the conversion plate 20 is also employed in the preferred embodiment of the present invention to support a press plate member 54 carried at the extending end of an arm 56 mounted for free rotation about the pivot shaft 46 to permit movement of the press plate member 54 between a first inactive position to the right and clear of knife assembly 14 (FIG. 3) and a second active position at which it is interposed between the knife assembly 14 and the shoe supported thereat by horn member 18 (see FIG.

A groove 58 is formed in the top face of press plate member 54 extending from the back face thereof to substantially the center of the top face where it is proportioned in size for shrouding reception of the nose portion 16 to permit the press plate member 54 to be urged into abutment with the flat surface at the lower end of knife assembly 14 by the upward bias of spring 52 when press plate member 54 is at its second position. The groove 58 is formed with a curved wall portion 58 disposed relative to the shrouded nose portion 16 to cause fasteners inadvertently issuing therefrom (while the press plate 54 is in its second position) to be directed toward the opening of the groove 58 in the rear face of press plate 54 so that such fasteners will be discharged harmlessly thereat. The bottom face of the press plate member 54 presents a smooth, continuous surface 60 for pressing work held thereagainst as will be described presently.

To direct the travel of the press plate member 54 as it moves between its first and second positions, a cam plate 62 is fixed to the side of the operating head 12 and includes a slot 64 formed to present a camming surface 66 arranged to cooperate with an abutment pin 56 extending from the press plate arm 56 so as to be urged against the camming surface 66 by the bias of spring 52 as best illustrated in FIG. 5. The camming surface 66 is shaped to include a downwardly directed projection 68 which causes the press plate 54 to be moved downwardly as it approaches or leaves its second position so as to clear the projecting nose portion 16, and is additionally shaped to include a straight portion 70 slanted away from projection 68 in a generally upward direction to cause downward movement of the press plate member 54 as it is moved from its first position toward its second position, and to cause it to be urged toward its first position under the influence of spring 52 after it has cleared the nose portion 16 in leaving its second position. To maintain the press plate member 54 in its first position, the upper leg of slot 64 is narrowed by a projecting wall portion 64' so as to offer a slight resistance to movement of the abutment pin 56 therethrough.

With the aforementioned parts arranged in the described manner, the machine 10 can be employed for normal mailing operations in which case the press plate member 54 is moved to its first position, or for pressing operations in accordance with the present invention by moving the press plate member 54 to its second position as will be described in further detail hereinafter below. The horn member 18 of the present invention is uniquely suited for either of the operations since the supporting face 40 offers a substantial surface area for pressing against the insole of a shoe without marking while the tangential relationship of the circular clinching element 42 and the supporting face sides 40 and 40" permits fastener insertion as near the edge portion of a solepiece as would be possible if the support face 40 consisted only of the circular clinching element. Moreover, the triangular shape of the supporting face 40 also renders it particularly useful in work on shoes having a pointed toe design since it will provide a positive support even at the narrow toe portion of the shoe and, in this regard, it should be noted that the horn member 18 also functions readily as a last to support shoes for manual repair operations such as securing toe plates thereto with a hammer.

To adapt the shoe repair machine 10 for pressing opera tions, the operator swings the press plate member 54 from its first position to its second position, the camming surface 66 causing the press plate member 54 to clear the nose portion 16 and then move into abutment with knife assembly 14 as best seen in FIG. 5, the nose portion 16 being received in shrouding relation by the groove 58. A shoe is then positioned on the supporting face 40 of horn member 18, and the latter is raised until the solepiece of the shoe abuts the pressing surface 60, the engagement of the holding pawl 34 with the rack 32 (FIG. 1) keeping the pressing surface 60 and supporting face 40 closely spaced on the shoe but leaving thesame free enough to move therebetween.

With the shoe positioned in this manner, the operator then sets the fastener length setting of machine 10 at zero so that no fasteners will be ejected from the nose portion 16, and then holds the machine energizing foot pedal (not shown) down for continuous reciprocation of work supporting assembly 28 whereby repetitive closing pressure is exerted between supporting face 40 and pressing surface 60. As has been previously mentioned, any fasteners ejected from nose portion 16 because of inadvertent failure to set the fastener length setting at zero will be received by groove 58 in press plate member 54 and guided by curved wall 58 to pass harmlessly through the rear face of the press plate member 54.

This repetitive pressing action has a variety of applications in shoe repair operations as, for example, the attachment of solepieces by the use of pressure sensitive adhesive in which case the peripheral edge of the bottom surface of the shoe insole and the facing surface portion of the solepiece are coated with an adhesive that is allowed to set after which the solepiece is generally fixed in position on the shoe, usually with the aid of manual impact hammering. Then, the solepiece is pressed to the shoe insole by the repetitive pressing action between supporting face 40 and pressing surface 60, the operator moving the shoe therebetween during periods when the pressure is released so as to expose progressively the desired portions of the solepiece and shoe to the pressing action. If the solepiece is secured to a welt-type shoe in accordance with the present invention, the solepiece may be subsequently pressed securely in place at the welt of the shoe using an attachment fixture uniquely fitted for this purpose as disclosed and claimed in the aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 595,731.

Other examples of shoe repair operations which are possible using the press plate attachment of the present invention are pressing attached solepieces, or shank joints, to remove bumps therefrom, and pressing toe plates onto pointed toe shoes which are nicely supported even at the narrow toe portion thereof by the triangular supporting face 40.

FIGS. 8, 9, and illustrate an alternate press plate 72 for use in shoe repair machines which are of the same general type as that illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 and which include a knife assembly which in all respects is the same as knife assembly 10 except that there is no projecting nose portion 16 at the lower face of the knife assembly, this lower face having an opening through which fasteners are inserted into footwear pressed thereagainst.

The alternate press plate member 72 is mounted in a manner substantially identical to the mounting for conversion plate 20 in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and includes a pivot shaft 74 from which a projecting arm 76 extends to present a vertical wall portion 78 having a top edge which forms a camming surface 80 and a retaining slot 82. Beyond the wall portion 78, a pressing portion 84 extends to present at its lower face a smooth, continuous, pressing surface 86 and at its upper face a groove 88 having a bottom wall 88 (FIG. 8) just as in the preferred embodiment.

The alternate press plate member 72, like conversion plate 20 in the preferred embodiment, is normally held at its first inactive position clear of its associated knife assembly by a torsion spring. For pressing operations, the alternate press plate member 72 is moved against this bias until the camming surface 80 engages the knife assembly pivot pin (such as that identified by numeral 90 in FIG. 2) and rides thereagainst to maintain the alternate press plate member 72 beneath the knife assembly untrl the pivot pin 90 engages the slot 82 whereupon the alternate press plate member 72 moves into its second position abutting the lower face of the knife assembly and presents the pressing surface 86 for pressing operations of the same type as those previously described in connection with the preferred embodiment. At this position of the alternate press plate member 72, the groove 88 is located beneath the fastener inserting opening of the knife assembly to receive and discharge harmlessly any fasteners ejected inadvertently therefrom. To return the alternate press plate member 72 to its first position, it is pressed downward to disengage pivot pin 90 and retaining slot 82, whereupon the torsion bias acting against pivot shaft 74 will urge the alternate press plate member 72 away from the knife assembly towards its first position.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a machine having means for forming and inserting fasteners in work supported thereat and having additional means presenting a smooth, continuous surface for pressing said supported work, the improvement comprising a work supporting horn member formed to present a top supporting face at which a circular clinching element is provided for turning any protruding ends of fasteners inserted in said footwear, and said top supporting face being additionally characterized by a triangular area encompassing said circular clinching element and having two sides lying substantially tangent thereto to provide a pressing surface for cooperating with said additional means in pressing said work.

2. In a machine of the character described, the improvement defined in claim 1 and characterized further in that said horn member is of the goose-neck type including a curved standard portion extending from said supporting face, and in that the apex formed by said two tangential sides points in a direction opposite to that in which said curved standard portion extends from said supporting face.

3. In a machine of the character disclosed, the improvement defined in claim 1 and characterized further in that the encompassing triangular area of said supporting face is progressively relieved toward its periphery to a degree sufficient for causing said triangular area to act predominantly within rather than at said periphery in supporting footwear.

4. In a machine of the character disclosed, the improvement defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that the tangent sides of said triangular area form an apex at which the included angle is sufficiently small for supporting penetration at the toe portion of footwear having the most pointed toe configuration to be dealt with.

5. In a fastener forming and inserting machine having a fastener forming knife assembly, means operating at said knife assembly to cause formation of fasteners thereby and insertion of the formed fasteners in work supported thereat, work supporting means having a reciprocating action timed with said operating means for pressing supported work to grip it securely against said knife assembly during the insertion of each fastener formed thereby, and a press plate member mounted on said machine adjacent said knife assembly for selective movement between a first inactive position clear of said knife assembly and a second active position at which it is interposed between said knife assembly and said supported work, said press plate member presenting a smooth, continuous surface portion for pressing work supported thereat when said press plate member is at said second position, the improvement which comprises a horn member adapting said Work supporting means for footwear and presenting a top supporting face at which a circular clinching element is arranged in an encompassing triangular area, the circular clinching element being provided for turning any protruding ends of fasteners inserted in the footwear, and the encompassing triangular area having two sides lying substantially tangent to said circular clinching element.

6. In a fastener forming and inserting machine, the structure defined in claim 5 and further characterized in that said press plate member includes a groove formed in the surface thereof facing said knife assembly to receive harmlessly any fasteners issuing from said knife assembly when said press plate member is at said second position.

7. In a fastener forming and inserting machine, the structure defined in claim 6 and further characterized in that said knife assembly is formed with a conical nose portion from which formed fasteners are inserted into a workpiece, and in that a portion of said press plate groove is proportioned for shrouding reception of said nose portion.

8. In a fastener forming and inserting machine of the character described, the structure defined in claim 7 and further characterized in that said press plate member is freely carried on a pivot shaft for movement between said first and second positions and includes an abutment pin projecting therefrom, in that biasing means is pro vided to urge said pivot shaft axially thereof, and in that a camming surface is provided against which said abutment pin is urged by said biasing means to cooperate therewith in regulating movement of said press plate between said first and second positions, said camming surface being shaped to direct said press plate along a path clearing said knife assembly nose portion as said press plate approaches or leaves said second position and to permit said biasing means to urge said press plate into abutment with said knife assembly When said press plate 0 groove is positioned to receive said nose portion, said camming surface being shaped additionally to cause movement of said press plate to said inactive first position under the influence of said biasing means after said press plate clears said nose portion in leaving said second position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner NEIL ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

